UVU Performing Groups To Hold Percussion Extravaganza

21 March 2013No Comment

March 21, 2013

For Immediate Release

University Marketing & Communications: Mike Rigert

Written by: Heather Wrigley

On April 3, UVU’s Sorensen Student Center Grande Ballroom will reverberate with the sounds of Percussion UVU, Wolverine Steel and the Green Man Group during their annual “Spring Collage” concert. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. A 7:15 p.m. pre-show in the lobby will feature classical, ragtime and Taiko performances.

Highlights of the percussion-centered concert will include Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Russian Easter Overture” and a performance of Michael Daugherty’s “Lex” for electric violin and percussion by adjunct instructor Blanka Bednarz.

“I hope the Overture resonates with listeners as it tells the Easter story,” said Doug Smith, UVU assistant professor of percussion. “It is a fantastic, moving piece with romantic Russian melodies and the fiery passion of a tutti orchestral string section, which we generate with mallet percussion instruments.”

UVU Symphony Orchestra Conductor Cheung Chau will conduct “Lex,” which was written for the 50th anniversary of Superman and is a musical depiction of Lex Luthor. Blanka Bednarz joins the story as she brings the villain to life with a blazing performance on the electric violin.

The evening will also include a rendition of Gillingham’s marimba concerto “Gate to Heaven” with freshman soloist Tracy Furr, whose passion is building marimbas.

The three-part concert will cover a range of styles: Percussion UVU includes percussion majors and non-majors with previous ensemble experience; the anonymous Green Man Group will infuse the concert with energy through its entertainment-focused drum line; and Wolverine Steel will offer a collection of favorites such as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Hey Soul Sister,” in addition to some traditional calypso tunes from Trinidad, where steel bands originated.

For tickets, visit the UVU School of the Arts box office in the Noorda Theatre, Campus Connection at the Sorensen Student Center, order by phone at 801-863-PLAY or order online at uvu.edu/arts. Seating is first come, first served.